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Prophecy
, , , | released = March 30, 2004 | label = Roadrunner | recorded = Fall 2003 Saltmine Studio Oasis in Mesa, Arizona; Serbia | producers = Max Cavalera | singles = "Prophecy" | prev_album = 3 | next_album = Dark Ages | alt_cover = Prophecy2.jpg | caption = Special Edition cover }} Prophecy is the fourth Soulfly album, released in 2004. In 2005, Prophecy was ranked number 306 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time. Background New lineup Max Cavalera recruited a whole new line-up for the fourth album. Joe Nunez was back behind the drum kit having worked on the Primitive album with Marc Rizzo formerly of on guitar. There are two bassists playing as members of Soulfly on Prophecy – David Ellefson of for five tracks and Bobby Burns of for seven tracks. Cavalera took this decision to have a mixture of old school metal and on the album. Cavalera explains on Roadrunner Records website that he wants to use different musicians as part of the group for each album. "This is an approach that I've wanted to do for a while. I never wanted Soulfly to be a band like , with the same four guys. On every Soulfly album, we've changed the line-up and it will probably continue that way. In order to do that, I had to start from the inside out and bring in people who caught my attention, that I had never played with before, and create this." After the release of this album, he would go on to keep these musicians as he felt they worked with him the best. Recording and release The album was recorded in fall 2003 in Mesa, Arizona, but all of the world music pieces were recorded in Serbia. The first song from the fourth album, eponymously titled "Prophecy", was revealed on February 14, 2004, followed by the album itself at the end of the following month. Contents Album covers The standard cover shows a tome all about prophecy, while the special cover shows another tome also dedicated to prophecy. World music and spirituality influences In , Cavelera had shown an interest in world music as shown on the 1996 album featuring elements of the music of Brazil's indigenous peoples. This approach continues on the Prophecy album with Cavalera travelling to Serbia to record with traditional musicians. On the track "Moses", an explicit statement of his religious beliefs he works with Serbian band featuring reggae influences. Other tracks on the album feature instruments from the Middle Ages, sheepskin bagpipes and Serbian Gypsies. On the band's website, Max Cavelera said that he founded the band "with the idea of combined sounds and spiritual beliefs." The Prophecy album contains the clearest statement of his beliefs with "I Believe" containing a spoken part in the middle where Cavelera expresses his faith. Songs "Prophecy" is the only single released from the album. "Living Sacrifice", which could've been released as a single, is about letting the soul travel around the world. "Execution Style" contains the lines 'Ready aim fire', which would abbreviate to "R.A.F.", the song which was removed from the track list before it was finalized. "Mars", in the sense of this band, means the god of war, not a planet. "Moses" is essentially an reggae-metal song that begins with French horn and then used occasionally. "Porrada" is the Portuguese title containing Portuguese lyrics. "In the Meantime" is a cover. Asha Rabouin performs feminine vocals on an R&B song "Wings", which is the album's closer following the instrumental track "Soulfly IV". Track listing # "Prophecy" – 3:35 # "Living Sacrifice" – 5:03 # "Execution Style" – 2:18 # "Defeat U" – 2:10 # "Mars" –5:23 # "I Believe" – 5:53 # "Moses" – 7:38 # "Born Again Anarchist" – 3:42 # "Porrada" – 4:07 # "In the Meantime" cover)}} – 4:45 # "Soulfly IV" – 6:03 # "Wings" – 6:03 ;Limited Edition Digipack (Live at Hultsfred Festival 2001, Sweden) 13. "Back to the Primitive" – 4:09 14. "No Hope = No Fear" – 4:22 15. "Spit" cover)}} – 2:32 16. "Jumpdafuckup/Bring It" – 4:26 17. "The Song Remains Insane" – 2:19 18. "Roots Bloody Roots" cover)}} – 3:58 Excluded tracks * "R.A.F." Reviews John Serba of praised Cavalera for their most well-done album possibly since his career with . He also praised that there are many organic influences, the album was tagged the " of metal." Don Kaye of says this album is "a strong, if disjointed effort, yet SOULFLY itself sounds more and more like a project searching for new ground, instead of a growing and developing rock act." Vik Bansal of noted that the album serves as testaments to legendary metal bands from the 1980's. According to Cavalera, Prophecy is dedicated “to God, the Most High”, and is littered with religious art and professions of faith. commented about this album, "The tracks on Prophecy have worldly textures and a distinct vibe that furthers Soulfly's status as a fluid musical tribe." Aleksie of say that "the album experiments with so many different elements that this is not fully a metal album." Links to review sites * Absolut Metal (4/5) * Allmusic (4/5) * Alternative-Zine.com * Amazon (4.2/5) * Blabbermouth.net (7/10) * Chart Attack * Decoy Music (3/5) * [http://exclaim.ca/Music/article/soulfly-prophecy Exclaim!] * FasterLouder * KingcrimsonBlog * Metal Music Reviews (4.17/5) * The Metal Observer (7.5/10) * MetalReviews (75/100) * musicOMH * PopMatters * Rate Your Music * Sputnikmusic (4/5) * Sputnikmusic (3.5/5) * Ultimate-Guitar.com (9.3/10) Charts Personnel ;Soulfly * Max Cavalera – lead vocals, , , * Marc Rizzo – guitars, * Bobby Burns – bass guitar on all tracks (except where noted) * David Ellefson – bass guitar on "Prophecy", "Defeat U", "Mars", "I Believe" (outro), "In the Meantime" * Joe Nuñez – drums, percussion ;Additional musicians * Meia Noite – percussion * Ljubomir Dimitrijević – , , , , , , on "Execution Style", "Born Again Anarchist", "Soulfly IV" * Danny Marianino – additional lead vocals on "Defeat U" * Mark Pringle – backing vocals on "Defeat U" * Asha Rabouin – lead vocals on "Wings", backing vocals on "I Believe" * John Gray – keyboards, samples ;Additional personnel * Max Cavalera – producer * John Gray – recording, engineering, editing * – mixing * Sam Hofstedt – additional engineering * Ted Jensen – mastering * Monte Conner – A&R * Gloria Cavalera – executive producer Category:Albums